It’s cooler here now, today for example, it’s 60 F and raining. It’s been cooler for several days. Most of the migrating birds have left. But I still have some hummingbirds.
They’ve been fun to watch as they battle over ‘their’ feeder. I thought all summer that I had one pair, a male and a female. How many hummers do you see in this image?
That’s the most I’ve ever seen near our feeder at one time. I hid in the corner of the living room and shot through the window. It’s hard to tell for sure how many you have when they’re flying at each other. This time, they were hungry enough to let each other eat.
They will be gone any day now. This morning I’m pretty sure there are only two. Soon I’ll be putting the feeder away, but I always leave it up for a week or so after I don’t see them anymore. You never know when a straggler will come through town, and they have such a long way to go.
I hope they have safe travels and a warm winter. And that they come back to me next spring.
September 20, 2026 at 1:30 pm
Definitely is cooler in the morning. I actually turned on my gas fireplace this morning – it was 64 in the house!
How lucky you are to have the hummingbirds. I’ve never even seen one in my area (doesn’t mean they’re not here but…)
May their journey be a safe one!
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September 21, 2026 at 10:33 am
I always worry about them. They are so tiny and have so far to go.d
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September 21, 2026 at 11:34 am
I hear you.
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September 20, 2026 at 1:50 pm
These photos made me smile. They are so much fun to watch! It is cold and rainy here in NJ today too.
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September 21, 2026 at 10:34 am
So much rain lately and they say we are still in a drought.
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September 20, 2026 at 2:02 pm
I heard on the weather that they left…along with other birds. I had a wonderful time with hummingbirds this summer as well. They loved the flowers on my balcony!! They were fun to watch, I just never had my phone with me when I saw them
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September 21, 2026 at 10:36 am
My orioles and red winged blackbirds are gone. And I haven’t seen a junco yet (they’re here in the winter) but there’s a BUNCH of finches here that weren’t here this summer, I guess they are passing through, though they seem to have stopped here for weeks, and EVERYBODY is hungry! I still have 2 hummers, at least as late as yesterday afternoon. Haven’t seen them this morning yet so they could be in Ohio by now.
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September 20, 2026 at 5:46 pm
I see four hummingbirds in both pictures. They are fueling up for their journey and likely are glad to leave these gloomy, rainy, cool days we had this weekend. I’m sure they will be back and I wonder if they memorize the houses with feeders along their route?
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September 21, 2026 at 10:37 am
Yes, I have NEVER had more than one hummer feeding at the same time. In the late summer they fight each other off the feeder. But I think in the spirit of getting ready to go, these four decided to let everybody eat. I sort of wonder if some of them are from the same brood from this summer and maybe are used to each other. But most of the time the four of them were chasing each other around. So cool to see two of them go straight up in the air like a fountain shooting up.
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September 21, 2026 at 9:37 pm
I’ll bet you’re right about being in the same brood, otherwise they are fighting with each other. But now that’s time to leave, they are buddies. Those little wings beating while shooting toward the sky was very cool.
A fellow blogger lives in Tofino, British Columbia. He has a lot of hummingbirds stop at his feeder nightly and they are so intent on getting energized with the nectar, that they sit on his finger while waiting to feed. I’ll send you a separate link in another comment. Just delete it when you’re done if you want, but I am just amazed at the whir of wings and their intensity.
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September 21, 2026 at 9:38 pm
Dawn, here is a post by Wayne with a YouTube video of his hummingbirds:
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September 22, 2026 at 1:01 pm
wow! That’s a LOT of hummingbirds!!
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September 22, 2026 at 8:52 pm
Yes, I can’t imagine it … I was searching for a video he showed once of multiple hummingbirds sitting on his fingers waiting for their turn. He says they feel so soft against his hand and are so feather-light and the whir of their wings is loud.
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September 20, 2026 at 5:57 pm
They are getting ready for a long flight. Our feeders had multiple visitors the last days. I freshened the nectar for the last time this year. They are such a delight to watch.
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September 21, 2026 at 10:39 am
I’m pretty sure these guys will scoot on out of here now that it’s in the 50s at night and not even 70 in the day. I’ve made enough food to fill it up once more if I need to. The woodpeckers like it too, so it will get gone one way or another.
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September 22, 2026 at 10:27 am
Same here. It’s suppose to be in the 40s in the nights for the rest of the week.
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September 20, 2026 at 6:19 pm
Bittersweet for sure. I figured our residents have departed and we’re seeing the stragglers. Since there are plenty of sipping flowers in the garden to feed any hummers passing through, we took down our glass feeder the other day for the season. Bon voyage, mes amis!
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September 21, 2026 at 10:40 am
Very possible. Last year I had straggling orioles till very late. I thought at first it was my birds just hanging around too long until someone suggested it could be birds that had spent the summer north of me just flying through. I left the jelly up for quite awhile and had orioles until about now. But this year I had to take it down because we had so many yellow jackets attacking all the birds, fighting over the jelly.
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September 20, 2026 at 8:20 pm
Ours have either left or are getting ready to head out. Farewell, fluttering beauties!
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September 21, 2026 at 10:41 am
We had 2 still last night. But I don’t seem them this morning so maybe they’re gone. I wish they’d at least say goodbye before they make the long journey. Perhaps if I had been sitting out on the deck yesterday (but it was raining all day) they would have. They liked to come hover in front of my face most sunny days that I was out there. I’ve heard they recognize the people that put out the food. I don’t know if that’s true but I hope so.
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September 22, 2026 at 5:56 am
Wow, what an exciting day at your house! They found a good place to stop on their journey. What amazing creatures.
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September 22, 2026 at 1:01 pm
They are very special birds!
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September 23, 2026 at 5:00 pm
I, too, wish them safe travels and warm weather. I missed having a feeder this year, but the zinnias we planted brought more than a few around. I don’t think I’ve ever seen so many at a feeder at one time as you have in your image!
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September 27, 2026 at 8:28 am
Wow, what great photos. I love how you were able to capture them getting ready for their big migration!
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